Martin Luther King JR

Name: [Name of Student]

Book Title: Let the Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Author: Stephen B. Oates Publisher: Harper & Row

Date of Publication: 1982Place of Publication: New York

Author's Thesis

Martin Luther King Jr. did not only achieve national fame but he was also internationally acclaimed for his efforts during civil rights movement and his winnings of noble prize. Above all his significance in American history and his fame, he also remained controversial. Stephen Oates, in his book Let the Trumpet Sound, let readers think how they actually know about King? Was he a saint or had human desires as well who temporarily won over public's and media attention? Did he mold the emerging civil rights movement or the movement shaped his personality. The biography of King written by Stephen Oates is attempting to answer such and other questions.

Historical Background

“Let the Trumpet Sound” was published in 1982 which is the first biography to be released after Stephen B. Oates was born in Texas in 1936. Professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, a specialist on the history of the United States, he has published numerous articles in leading journals all U.S. history and a dozen books, including a biography of Martin Luther King and an anthology of texts by historians intended to demonstrate that the biography can also be literature.

King: A Critical Biography of David Lewis was published in 1970. The author has followed the King from his birth, through hi education which he received at Crozer and Boston Universities. Soon the king is boarding over his career as a minister in Montgomery, Alabama. This happened exactly at the same time when the Supreme Court ordered desegregation of schools in Brown v. Board of education court case. The timing of history seems to be perfect, and shortly after such incidents, king is all wrapped up in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement.

Summary

The introductory portion of the book provides a clear view about the ruling style of Martin Luther King Jr. according the author, the name of Martin Luther King Jr. was the most recognizable one with the civil rights movement. Parents and children, both black and white Americans, knew his name as they used to hear his speeches and react over his speeches, negatively or positively. The author has heavily relied upon the biographies published earlier such as by Lawrence D. Reddick, David Lewis, Lerone Bennett along with King's own and biographies written by his widow.

Commentary

Oates, in his book gives the most comprehensive account on life of king prior to becoming a public figure as the most important leader of the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-1956. The accounts of his first twenty seven years are marred only by a little acquaintance with other works on the intellectual development as well as theological training of King. For instance, no reference is ever given to the study that most of the King scholars consider definitive in this topic.

The chapters of the book on the post01956 ...